TiVo to Mac Users: Buzz Off 52
jamie writes "Though TiVo's website still claims it's 'working hard to make the TiVoToGo feature' work on Macs, its CFO just admitted otherwise. Bringing your recordings to your Mac to watch, he said, seems unlikely 'unless we find a way to record it under the current platform, and I don't think that will happen in the next few years.' Translation: no DRM, no content. Fortunately for Mac users, there are alternatives..."
Boo hoo (Score:5, Insightful)
EyeTV? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:EyeTV? (Score:5, Informative)
am I missing something here, or does EyeTV replicate everything that TiVO offers? Why would someone buy TiVo over EyeTV?
EyeTV is missing a number of features. First, you need a mac to interface with and control it. Next it does not have the concept of season passes. Third, it does not record suggestions in it's spare space. Fourth the UI is not quite as nice.
On the other hand, EyeTV has no DRM, a built in editor, burns VCDs and DVDs, has no monthly fee for scheduling, is much easier for hard drive upgrades, and can be used to rip your existing video collection.
I bought an EyeTV a year or so and am delighted with it. There are still some TiVo features I'd like, but all in all I prefer having control and easy archiving.
Re:EyeTV? (Score:2)
I'd hate to buy the EyeTV 500 (I believe)but only be able to record HD TV over air.
Thanks.
Re:EyeTV? (Score:2)
Do you know if EyeTV is able to record HD tv off unencrypted cable channels?
I don't know. Probably, but you should ask Elgato. They were very prompt about answering the one e-mail I sent to support.
Re:Boo hoo (Score:5, Interesting)
The only difference is whether anybody feels sorry for Tivo.
Re:Boo hoo (Score:1)
Nice work. Very nice. Can I have it?
Re:Boo hoo (Score:2)
Re:Boo hoo (Score:2)
DRM (Score:5, Informative)
Fire up Safari and go to https:// or choose the tivo from your rendezvous/bonjour bar and change it to read https://
User name: tivo
Password: your tivo access key that you can get from your Tivo account online
From here, you can download encrypted files off of your Tivo to your Mac via a web interface. From there, it's a matter of scouring a few forums to find the correct command line tools to strip the DRM off of files and leave you with pristine, quicktime playable, Toast burnable
Re:DRM (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:DRM (Score:2, Informative)
Re:DRM (Score:2)
Re:DRM (Score:1)
Re:DRM (Score:1)
Re:DRM (Score:1)
Re:DRM (Score:1)
Re:DRM (Score:2)
Re:DRM (Score:1)
Re:DRM (Score:1)
Currently solution requires access to DirectShow filters - hence only Win2000/XP methods.
Please let me know if you do find anything!
Re:DRM (Score:1)
Re:DRM (Score:2, Insightful)
The dealdatabase and tivocommunity forums dont currently have mac native tools.....
I wish I was proven wrong here
Re:DRM (Score:3, Insightful)
roll your own... (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't have to wait (nearly as long) to add functionality to my DIY PVR's... I can take advantage of a bevy of open source and commercial projects to install/modify/tweak to do what I want with my content, all without annoying DRM getting in the way.
A DIY PVR is neither as cheap or as easy as a TiVo (but it doesn't have to be very hard) but with a homebuilt PVR I don't have to deal with half hearted empty corporate promises and waiting... and waiting. I can drag/stream content (from my PC PVR)over my network to my g4 gooseneck imac right now and play it. If I pony up for a plextor convertX I could record mpeg2 right to the Mac. If I'm feeling adventuresome I could put the MythTV OSX client on it (and so on, and so on...)
All the times I've heard "why would you spend XYZ dollars on a PC/MAC based PVR, when a TiVo is 99 dollars or cable co DVR is 5 bucks a month?" This typoe of shennanigan is why.
I can move content freely to other platforms without waiting for a bunch of giant corporations to figure out how to get their DRM to talk to eachother or if they can spare the development time to support a given platform. *sigh*
All i need is obtrusive banner ads during FF to really burst a blood vessel =P
e.
btw mythtv .18 was released (Score:4, Informative)
MythTV [mythtv.org] including support for the Plextor ConvertX (which has linux drivers as well as a Mac flavored version [plextor.com] bundled with Elgato's EyeTV [elgato.com])
*shrug*
e.
Mac Users to TiVo: Will Do (Score:3, Informative)
This is probably as good a time as any to put in a plug for El Gato's products [elgato.com]. They make some really excellent hardware and software that can do TiVo-style recording via Mac OS X. It works and works well, with no DRM whatsoever.
~jeff
Re:eyetv sucks compared to tivo (Score:1, Informative)
g/might be/s//has been/
EyeTV 500 records uncompressed High-def signals over firewire. Very sweet.
So there you go.
Re:Mac Users to TiVo: Will Do (Score:2)
At the heart of the EyeTV 500 it really only does timed recordings. It has some integration with TitanTV, but at the end of the day, it's half-assed - nothing even close to the reliability and flexibility of a TiVo season pass.
To top it all off, about 10-20% of the time I ask it to record something, it fails.
Yes, it is broadcast flag safe and has no DRM, but it still has a long way to go to be a TiVo.
The Truth in the Troll (Score:2)
So the question stands...is it ok when Steve Jobs and Company push DRM for Apple products and services, and bad when others do it? Where I come from that's c
Re:The Truth in the Troll (Score:2)
1. Leave it DRM'd, so that I could listen on my computer through iTunes and my iPod Shuffle, but can't listen in my living room through my SlimDevices Squeezebox;
2. Strip the DRM, so that I could listen on my SlimDevices Squeezebox but not iTunes or Shuffle;
3. Maintain a stripped and non-stripped copy in the same library by chan
Re:The Truth in the Troll (Score:2)
Troll in the Truth (Score:2)
But why the grudge against Apple devices? They play unprotected MP3s, WAVs and lossless-compressed music. Or do you actually want to try WMA?
Re:The Truth in the Troll (Score:2, Insightful)
With TiVo's DRM or whatever, you're still limited to playing them on only Windows.
Re:The Truth in the Troll (Score:3, Informative)
TiVo software option? (Score:2, Insightful)
MythTV? Alternative? (Score:2)
Re:MythTV? Alternative? (Score:2)
Though I do have a PC and will give SonicDVD's trial a go. Of course, there's still a hole in their security. If I can burn them to a consumer DVD, then I can rerip it from the DVD in the same quality as it was burned, and no DeCSSing necessary so no DMCA
Re:MythTV? Alternative? (Score:2)
Re:MythTV? Alternative? (Score:2)
The Dazzle* had given me problems before with distorted sound. I also tried ADS Tech's Pyro A/V Link but it had too many problems to be useable: it silently dropped large groups of frames; it had to be used as an uncontrolled device otherwise it couldn't capture more than 90 seconds of video at a time; being uncontrolled required FCP to beachball for long periods o
Another Mac Option: Center Stage (Score:4, Informative)
Try ReplayTV (Score:3, Informative)
Note: I only have experience with the 4000 and 5000 models, so perhaps the newer ones break all this, but I don't think so.
Re:Try ReplayTV (Score:1, Interesting)
I can confirm that. I have a 50xx series and a 55xx series. Both work fine with mReplay, MPEG StreamClip, ffMPEGx, DVArchive, etc.
Re:Try ReplayTV (Score:2, Informative)
err - "All a mistake" TiVo says... (Score:4, Interesting)
PVRBlog reports that TiVo says his words were misunderstood. I think the quote was "Why can't we all just get along?" Tivo Doing Damage Control for Mac Fans [pvrblog.com]